


Snake Care and Husbandry

by borealowl



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), Ineffable Idiots (Good Omens), M/M, POV Crowley (Good Omens), Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 05:32:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/borealowl/pseuds/borealowl
Summary: Crowley notices some changes around the bookshop, but what he doesn't realize is that Aziraphale is trying to create the perfect snake habitat.





	Snake Care and Husbandry

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Snake Care and Husbandry](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22246468) by [Satellite91](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Satellite91/pseuds/Satellite91)



The first change Crowley noticed was the plants. Aziraphale, who had never shown any interest in plants, was now slowly adding potted plants to his back room.

“New decorating scheme, angel?” he asked, gently prodding a leaf.

“Do you like it?” Aziraphale asked, looking a bit anxious. “I thought, since you’re spending more time here—” here the angel turned pink “—they might make it feel more homey.”

“Aww, you want me to spend more time over here. You like me, angel, admit it.” Crowley grinned, and was rewarded with a kiss.

“I love you, Crowley, you know that. And I do want you to spend more time here.”

There was nothing that could be said in response to Aziraphale’s sweet sincerity, so instead Crowley pulled him close for a longer kiss that left his own head spinning. It should not be possible to be this happy.

“Why again did we wait six thousand years to start doing this? Never mind, don’t answer that.” Reluctantly, he let Aziraphale go, and with one last affectionate caress of Crowley’s cheek, the angel bustled off to the front of the bookstore.

Crowley walked over to the new plants.

“Right,” he murmured in a voice that he hoped would escape the angel’s hearing. “You little green bastards need to understand this. Aziraphale might be soft, but I. Am. Not. And if any one of you dares to disappoint my angel by not growing to your full potential, I will make an example of you that will be whispered in dark corners of botanical gardens on freezing winter nights. Do I make myself clear?”

The plants quivered.

“Excellent.”

***** 

A week later, Crowley was lounging on the sofa in the back when Aziraphale entered carrying two large sun lamps.

“Are those for the plants?”

“Well, I am hoping that they will help the poor things survive so far away from the windows. Though I must say, they’re growing surprisingly well.”

As Aziraphale turned to adjust the angle of a lamp, Crowley looked at the nearest ficus through narrowed eyes.

“Don’t get complacent,” he whispered.

“What was that, my dear?” asked Aziraphale.

“Nothing.”

“Do you like the lights? They’re not too bright or too warm, are they?”

“No, no, they’re great. I like warm. Come here.” He patted the couch seat. When Aziraphale sat next to him, Crowley slid down and plopped his head in the angel’s lap. “See? Nice and warm. Perfect for napping.”

Aziraphale learned forward to kiss his forehead. “Nap well, dearest.”

Crowley could feel himself slowly drifting off. “Love you, angel,” he mumbled.

“I love you too.”

Then he was asleep.

*****

A few days later, Crowley dropped by the shop and saw that Aziraphale had rearranged the furniture. An armchair had already been relocated to the furthest corner of the room, with a screen keeping it mostly out of view of the rest of the shop. Aziraphale was standing in front of the screen, his back to the door.

“Angel, what in Somebody’s name are you doing?”

“Crowley!”

Aziraphale spun around, hands behind his back. For a moment, his face lit up, the way it did every time he saw the demon, and Crowley felt a tightness in his chest. He did not deserve to be this happy.

Then the angel looked at the ground and fidgeted. “I thought you might like a private corner in the room, in case you needed your own space.”

“In case I…? Angel, what is going on? What’s that behind your back?”

“Oh, um, I” In just a few quick steps, Crowley closed the distance between them. He slid his arms around the angel and kissed him, with a great deal of enjoyment. Aziraphale slowly relaxed in his embrace, and as the angel wrapped his own arms around Crowley’s neck, Crowley heard the soft thud of something falling to the floor. Supernatural beings do not need to breathe air, but the demon still felt the need to pull back and catch his breath. From the look on his face, Aziraphale felt the same.

Suddenly, Crowley dove for the fallen object. Aziraphale tried to grab it first, but the demon beat him to what turned out to be a book.

“Crowley, that’s cheating!” protested Aziraphale.

“I’m a demon; I _should_ cheat. But I wasn’t in this case. I could have gone for it immediately, but I wanted to kiss you first. Should I not have?”

“Well, no, it was very nice, but—“

“Excellent. Now, what’s this?” He turned the book the right away around and read the title out loud. “ _Snake Care and Husbandry_.” Crowley stared at it for a moment. “Snake care and—Aziraphale!”

The angel winced. “Well, I thought, I just wanted to make you comfortable, and…”

“Angel, are you trying to turn your room into a _terrarium_?” Crowley tried to sound outraged, but it was taking all his effort not to burst out laughing.

“Well, I’m not going to replace the carpet with absorbent substrate, but...”

That was too much. A hiss of laughter snuck out from between his teeth, and then he was laughing so hard he had to lean on Aziraphale to stay upright.

When he finally caught his breath, he stepped back and turned the angel to face him. Aziraphale was biting his lip and looking nervous.

“You could have just asked me what decor I liked, you know.”

“I know! And I should have, I know that. But I wanted to make sure you felt welcome, and safe, and at home.”

Crowley decided that the rest of the conversation could wait for a bit. “Come here, you perfectly wonderful idiot of an angel.” He gently grabbed Aziraphale and fell backward onto the couch, pulling the angel down with him and wrapping his legs around Aziraphale’s waist.

Some time and several removed layers of clothing later, Crowley kissed the angel again and said,

“I do, you know. Feel safe, and welcome, and at home here. I feel at home wherever you are, whether it’s London or Alpha Centauri.”

“To be honest, I was hoping you’d consider moving in with me,” Aziraphale confessed.

“Angel, I haven’t been home in a week. I rather thought I was moving in with you.” He thought for a moment. “Though I’m not sure where I’ll put my sound system.”

“There’s a whole set of rooms on top of the shop, you know. I mostly use them for storage, but we could turn them into a proper apartment.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me that, instead of messing about with lamps?”

Aziraphale sighed. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured into a commitment. It’s only been a few months; I was worried about going too fast.”

Crowley gently rested his forehead against the angel’s for a moment. Possible or not, deserved or not, he was so, so happy.

“Aziraphale, my angel, I knew six thousand years ago that I wanted to spend eternity with you. That hasn’t changed. Go as fast as you like.”

Aziraphale’s smile was brighter than any sun lamp, and like the snake that he once (still) was, Crowley basked in its warmth.


End file.
